Foot guard



H. N. WASSER FOOT GUARD May 30, 1939.

Filed Sept. 7, 1937 IN Wok M nssu' A ORNEY.

Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES FOOT GUARD Harry N. Wasser, EllwoodCity, Pa., assignor to EllwoodSafety Appliance Company, Ellwood City,Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 7, 1937, SerialNo. 162,590

15 Claims.

This invention relates to foot protectors and more particularly to acombined toe and foot protector adapted to be worn over the shoes ofworkmen in industrial plants to protect the feet of the workmen againstfalling objects.

In rolling mills and other industrial plants workmen are often engagedin handling heavy objects such as billets weighing more than a hundredpounds, and in many instances such objectsare allowed to slip or falleither on the feet of the workman himself, or onto the feet of otherworkmen, causing crushed toes and other painful injuries.

The present foot protector is constructed of 16 relatively light metal,but due to its novel construction has suflicient stiffness and strengthto withstand the blows from any object that a man can handle. Also dueto the novel shape and construction of the foot protector of thisapplication,

20 any blow or shock delivered to the foot protector will be deliveredby the protector directly to the ground, due to the fact that the bodyof the protector bridges over the Wearers foot and has its lower edgesin engagement with the ground.

The foot guard or protector described herein is generally of the typeshown in U. S. Patent 1,640,669, issued August 30, 1927, to Clinton E.

Sankey, and is intended to provide certain improvements and novelfeatures of design and construction that are of particular utility in afoot guard of that type.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a foot guard of suchconstruction that it will always be held in place directly against theground upon which the wearer may be standing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a foot guard of the typedescribed that shall be relatively quiet during walking movements of thewearer.

Another, and important, objectof this invention is to provide a methodof and means for supporting the foot protector on the wearersshoe-encased foot so that the shoe shall move with the foot, and noswinging motion of the shoe shall be permitted with respect to the footwhile the wearer of the guard is walking or otherwise moving his foot,thereby eliminating any forces of the guard upon the foot other thandirect weight.

Y 5 Another important object of the invention is the moment arm of theweight or gravity force of the guard to a minimum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a supporting arrangementfor supporting the guard on the shoe-encased foot of the wearer in such5 manner as to provide a soft, yielding contact between the guard andthe foot of the wearer, so that the guard may be lightly and fioatinglysupported on the foot of the wearer.

A further object of this invention is to provide 10 a fastening deviceand arrangement to attach the guard to the shoe of the wearer and todetach it from the shoe of the wearer easily and quickly.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attaching means whichmay be easily and I quickly adjusted to adapt the guard to fit theinstep and shoe of all wearers. A foot guard'of the type described andmodified according to the principle of my invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which 20 Figure 1 is a longitudinal andelevational side view of the guard shown as applied to the foot of awearer;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the foot guard of this invention; and 25Figure 3 is a rear view of the guard shown in Figure 2.

As shown in the drawing, the foot protector or guard Ill consists of ametal shell or body I I that is generally arched or convex incross-section to bridge over and cover the toe and instep of the foot ofthe person wearing the guard. The shell body II is generally open at thebottom except for a short space at the front or toe of the shell 5 wherea toe piece l3 of rubber or other suitable sound-deadening material issecured to the front part of the shell body by suitable securing meanssuch as the rivets I4. The rivets l4 extend through the wall of theshell body I I and through 0 a vertical flange I5 of the rubber toepiece [3. The rubber toe piece is provided also with a base portion I6which extends across and underneath the shell body I 1 adjacent thefront portion thereof. The base It of the rubber toe piece extends 45inwardly from the front edge of the guard a short distance suflicient toextend under the front portion of the shoe of a wearer, and servesseveral purposes as will be later explained.

Except for the bottom space of the guard across which the rubber toepiece extends, the guard body is generally open on the bottom. Moreover,it is made of a width sufliclent to clear the sides of the shoe of awearer and is of a height sufficient to clear the top of the instep ofthe wearers shoe when the lower edges of the shell body are inengagement with the ground.

The shell body of the guard is preferably made of a relatively lightgauge metal plate and is forged or pressed into shape from one piece ofmetal plate. Any metal of high strength may be employed, but thelightness in weight is, of course, an important item. The shell body maybe made of steel plate, although I have made the shell body of hightensile strength aluminum alloy, which has been found satisfactory.

In order to impart additional strength to the shell body, the body isprovided with a plurality of transversely extending stiffening andreinforcing ribs or corrugations 3 and 4 on each side of a centrallyarranged longitudinally extending stiffening and reinforcing rib orcorrugation 5. These ribs or corrugations 3, 4, and 5 are pressed upslightly on the body and have a convex crosssection, and serve tomaterially strengthen the body against collapse, and consequently permita lighter gauge metal to be used for the shell body than could otherwisebe used. I

The rear ends of the lower edges of the shell body are cut away to forminclined surfaces l8 and I9, and they are connected by a rigid tiemember 20 that is riveted or otherwise secured to the sides of the bodyby fastening means such as rivets 2!. The tie member 20 serves a doublepurpose. It serves first to prevent the spreading of the side portionsof the arched body, and serves also to hold, the guard down on the footof the wearer, as will be explained in more detail later.

In order to fasten the guard to the shoeenoased foot of the wearer anadjustable strap or leather thong 25 is provided, to the ends of which aresilient spring element 28 is connected in such manner as to fit aroundthe heel of the shoe of the wearer.

The strap 25 preferably consists'of two parts in order to provide apoint of adjustment by means of a buckle 21 on the top and outside ofthe shell body. The shell body is provided with four openings 3|, 32,33, and 34 through which the supporting strap 25 is laced in the mannershown in Figures 2 and 3, so that the strap will cross above the instepof the wearer and thus provide a supporting point whereby the strap willserve to support the guard on the instep with'a soft cushioning effect.a

The other ends of the strap are provided with suitable connecting meanssuch as eyelets 31 and 33 to and from which snap fasteners 39 and 40 arereadily attached and detached. The snap fasteners are secured to theends of a long helical spring 42 which is encircled by a rubber tube 63fitting loosely over the spring 42 in such manner as to permit a certainamount of rotation with respect to the helical spring 42. The spring andthe rubber tube 52 constitute the connecting member 25 by means of whichthe guard may be secured to the shoe of the wearer.

When the guard is to be applied to the shoeencased foot of the wearer,the shoe is extended into the guard between the cross-tie 20 and thespace beneath the V-point 56 of the connecting strap 25 and extendedinto the guard to a point where the toe of the shoe will rest upon thebase 16 of the toe piece 53. The rubber covered spring attaching member26 is then raised to surround the back of the shoe above the heel in themanner shown in Figure 1. The guard is thus easily and readilyattachable to the shoe.

In order to remove the guard, the back securing shoe either manually orby the other foot of the wearer, and the guard then dropped oif thewearers shoe.

When the wearers shoe-encased foot is in position within the guard asshown in Figure 1, the toe of the shoe will rest upon the base it of thetoe piece E3 of the guard. The cross-tie 20 of the guard will restagainst the lower part of the shoe in front of the heel where it will beheld in place against that part of the shoe due to the resiliency of thecross-strap 25 which will ten-d to raise the guard upward from theinstep. This arrangement thus provides a relatively stable three-pointconnection between the guard and the shoe of the wearer, namely, onepoint being where the'toe of the shoe engages the base l6 of the rubbertoe piece of the guard, and the second point being where the cross-tie20' of the guard engages the under the surface of the shoe, and thethird point being where the strap 25 rests upon the instep of the shoeof the wearer. By means of this three-point connection between the guardand the shoe, a relatively'stable and positive connection is made whichprevents a sloppy fit and swinging relative movement of the guard withrespect to the foot that would be unpleasant and annoying to the wearer.At the same time, the guard is secured to the foot through the softcross-strap 25 which is readily adaptable to the shape of the instep andprovides a soft cushioning fit that does not cause any discomfort fromexcessive pressure to the wearer.

A further advantage of the manner of supporting the guard on the instepof the shoe through the V-shaped cross-strap is that it brings the pointof contact between the guard and the foot, through which the pressure orgravity force line will act on the foot, to a point as close as possibleto the ankle about which the foot articulates. The moment arm of thegravity force or weight of the guard about the ankle is thereforereduced to a minimum so far as the shape of the normal human foot willpermit, and the weight effect or force of the guard that would makeitself felt on the foot. of the wearer is therefore reduced to aminimum.

Thus, by reason of the manner in which the guard is supported on andsecured to the foot of a wearer, it provides maximum safety with minimumdiscomfort or annoyance. A guard of the type shown herein may be Wornover relatively long working periods without any feeling of discomforton the part of the wearer.

My invention is not limited to any of the specific details ofconstruction that are illustrated, since they may be variously modifiedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as setforth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A toe and foot guard comprising an arched metal shell body shaped tofit over the toe and instep of a shoe-encased foot of the wearer, themetal body being Wider than the shoe of the wearer so that its side edgewiil be free to engage the ground, a rubber toe piece secured to thefront of the body and embodying a cross piece extending across andunderneath the toe of the wearersshoe, and a resilient element forresiliently supporting the shell body above the instep of the wearer andfor securing the shell body to the shoe of the wearer.-

2. A toe and foot guard comprising a metal shell to be worn over a shoeof a wearer, and means for supporting the guardon the shoe with aresilient engagement between the guard and the'shoe above the arch ofthe foot, and with fixed engagement at the toe of the shoe.

. 3. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding-the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition against upward or downward movement at the toe of the shoe, andmeans at the back end of the shell for limiting its upward movement butpermitting limited downward movement.

4. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, and a floating support at the back endof the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe of thewearer said support consisting of a flexible cross strap fitting overthe top of the shoe and supported within the shell and between the twoside walls.

5. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, and self-adjusting saddle meanssupporting the shell on the top of the shoe said saddle means consistingof a strap supported within, and between the side walls of the shell anddisposed to rest upon the top of the shoe.

6. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, and resilient means including aself-adjusting strap within the shell to support the shell on the shoe.

7. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, a crossed strap within the shell tosupport the shell on the shoe. the two ends of the strap extending outof the shell, and a resilient element connected between the two ends ofthe strap to serve as a loop to encircle the heel of the shoe and holdthe shell on the shoe.

8. A toe and foot guard comprising a rigid self-sustaining shell shapedto fit loosely over the toe and instep of a shoe-encased foot of awearer, means on the front end of the shell for holding the forward endof the shell in relatively fixed position at the toe of the shoe, andmeans at the back end of the shell for securing the shell to the shoeand for permitting a limited amount of selfadjusting movement of theshell about its front fixed end as a center, to hold the shell looselyabove and about the shoe, said securing means including a resilient bandsecured to the shell on opposite sides of the shell and of sufiicientlength to permit itself to be positioned frictionally around the heel ofthe shoe to hold the shell on the shoe of the wearer, while permittingquick and easy shifting of the band to displace it from effectiveposition to permit the shell to be easily removed.

9. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, and means including a crossed strapwithin the shell to serve as an inverted saddle to support the shell onthe instep of the shoe with a contact that will yield to permit thestrap to adjust itself under the force of an external pressure, whilebeing suflijciently tight normally to hold the shell in fixed positionon the shoe against relative movement.

10. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, a cross strap extending across thebottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side wallsof the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer, and resilientmeans including an element within the shell and yieldingly conformableto the shoe, above the arch, for floatingly supporting the shell on theshoe, to permit the shell to floatingly oscillate about its fixedposition at the toe.

11. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, a cross strap extending across thebottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side wallsof the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer, a yielding elementwithin the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe, and aresilient element outside of the shell for holding the shell on theshoe.

12. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, a cross strap extending across thebottom of the shell and connected to the bottom edges of the side Wallsof the shell to be underneath the shoe of the wearer, a yielding elementwithin the shell for fioatingly supporting the shell on the shoe, and aresilient loop element outside of the shell to serve to hold the shellon the shoe, said resilient element being connected to the yieldingelement within the shell to hold the yielding element normally tight.

13. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped tofit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at the toe of the shoe, a strap extending within the shell incross fashion from two spaced points at the top of the shell todiagonally opposed points near the opposite bottom edges of the shelland extending through the shell at such bottom points, and a resilientelement connected between the two ends of the strap extending throughsuch bottom points.

14. A toe and foot guard comprising a shell shaped to fit over the toeand instep of a shoeencased foot of a wearer, means on the'front end ofthe shell for holding the forward end of the shell in relatively fixedposition at. the toe of the shoe, a strap extending within the shell incross fashion from two spaced points at the top of the shell todiagonally opposed points near the opposite bottom edges of the shelland extending through the shell at such bottom points, and a resilientelement connected between the two ends of the strap extending throughsuch bottom m forcing a d bracing cross-strap across the bottom openingof the shell and secured to the lower edges of both side Walls of theshell, a yielding support connected to the shell and located within theshell to fit over the instep of the foot, an elastic heel-strap to holdthe shell on the shoe, and freely articulated snap connectors securingthe ends of the heel-strap to ends of the yielding support.

HARRY N. WASSER.

